The Tot Car

What you will need:

Art Box

Wooden Car Kit

(Found at Joann's for $1.99)

Cali loves cars, tractors, fishings, football, soccer, etc. So when I told her we were going to build our very own car she was more than excited! I opened the package and let her explore with the pieces for about 10 minutes. After the 10 mintues I directed her by using hand gestures on how to make the car. I didn't want to actaully "show" her how to put the pieces together, because I think it is very important for her to learn by gesture on how to make/build anything.

I knew she could do it! And I praised her for listening and watching my hands on how to put the wheels together!

Next I simply said "Where do the wheels go?" Of course she knew, so she placed them in the correct holes. (You will want a hammer close by to make sure the wheels are good and tight)

Next, she colored her car! I wrote her name on it, we practiced C..A..L..I. I love the way she actually says her name, its "Talvee." On this car we also drew shapes, and talked about colors. Purple is by far her favorite!

Cali very proud of her new car!!

Animal Face Plates

What you wil need:

Paper Plates

Colored Construction Paper

Art Box

Scissors

Glue

I told Cali that it was craft time, and she came to check out when I had in store for her on this day. She was excited to hear we were making animals! She is such an animal lover!

Get your paper plates, we made 2 animals. First turn the plate over, you want to use the back so the face will "pop" out. Have an animal in mind, and start talking about the color of the animal and give your child that color or crayon. We did a pig, so I can gave Cali a pink crayon. As she was coloring we talked about what sounds a pig makes, and where you can find pigs!

Next give you child a darker colored crayon for the eyes. I told Cali that the pigs eyes where circles that we colored in. (Circles are Cali's favorite)

Next draw with a dark crayon on the construction paper the shapes you will use for the ears, nose and mouth. As I drew the shapes, Cali told me what they were. She loves her shapes! As I was drawing the mouth, she said that I was making a moon! How awesome is it to see your child do a comparsion before your eyes! I was pretty amazed she put them together!

Glue your shapes to complete the face!

Look at how awesome her pig is! It is now frigde art, and dont forget the put their name, age, and date on the back!

Cali the pig!

We had so much fun, we decided we had to make another one. Cali said she wanted to make a dog. Follow all the steps again, and complete the face.

Cali the dog!



Take Every Moment To Teach Your Tot

Any chance I get I take the opportunity to teach or have Cali learn something new. One of the best places is the grocery store. There are so many new smells, textures, colors, shapes, etc that tots can benefit from. On this day we talked about sizes and colors of fruits and veggies! We also did some smelling too!

Lid Art

Start collecting your plastic lids from milk jugs, soda bottles, orange juice jugs, etc.

We will be doing a project in 2 weeks with the lids!

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

This rhyme helps your child's counting  skills.

Group items together to show how many items make that certain number.

One, two, buckle my shoe;

Three, four, shut the door;

Five, six, pick up sticks;

Seven, eight, lay them straight;

Nine, ten, a big fat hen.

Rhyme Time

Teach your child this rhyme about the number of days in each month.

Thirty days has September,

April, June, and November.

All the rest have thirty-one,

Save February, which alone, 

Has twenty-eight and one day more,

We add to it one year in four.

Cleaning Coins

What you need:
+Old toothbrush
+Water
+Soap (optional)
+Bowl
+Coins
+Towels
+Vinegar (optional)

Have your child sit on a flat surface, preferably a surface that you don't mind if water, soap, or vinegar gets spilled. We of course went straight to the kitchen floor for this one, it needed to be cleaned anyways :o)

Fill the bowl with just enough water to make it fun, add soap & vinegar, if you choose. Then show them with the toothbrush how to brush the coins and make them shiny. I only used water & vinegar for one purpose, my kiddo LOVES exploring, and the first thing she was dip her fingers in the bowl and then put her fingers in her mouth. No harm done since its water & vinegar. She sure didn't like the taste!

After a good 15 to 20 minutes of brushing and cleaning,  have your child take all the coins out and dry them. As Cali was taking the coins out we talked about why each coin wasn't the same size but they all were circle. This is a good way to just focus on one shape at a time. Circles just happen to be Cali's favorite shape, so she was thrilled and excited to learn about coins!

Flour Drawing

 What you need:
+Flour
+Foil

Sprinkle the foil with flour, the more the better :o)
Show your child how to draw shapes, numbers, and the alphabet with his/her fingers.

 This is an easy way to teach them as well as to make learning fun.
I suggest depending on the child's age, 10 to 20 minutes of structured learning time, once you can see you have lost their attention span let them enjoy playing in the flour.

Of course I knew this activity would be best on the floor because, we must let our piggies get some play time too! Cali kept saying "Sof fower," meaning soft flour.

Imagination Game

What you need:
+Imagination
+You
+Your child or children
+Fun and silly questions

Ask your child silly questions to see how they use their imagination and to encourage them that using their imagination is perfectly acceptable. I had so much fun asking Cali silly questions, we both were giggling with some of her answers.

Examples:
1)Cali would you rather be a bird or a bear? BIRD

2)Cali would you rather be a dog or a cat? A TAC (she calls them Tac's, its Cat backwards :] )

3)Cali would you rather be a duck or a fish? Knowing she likes both I was excited to see what she would come up with, she said she would be a DUCKFISH, of course!

Let your child engage, explore and use their imagination as they wish, it is a critical part of self learning.

Limit television time

I highly suggest you limit your baby/toddler/preschoolers television time, they need to be more engaged in learning activities and less time watching television. In our home we do not have cable. We have streaming netflix and dvd's.

If they are going to be watching a dvd, go to the the setup options and select a different language. My 2.5 year old has watched Barney in Spanish so many times she sings along with him, as well as when she is just out playing she will sing in Spanish. Introducing a foreign language to an infant/toddler is important in brain development. I feel so blessed because my husband is from Belgium, and has taught Cali all of her body parts in Flemish as well as small sayings. I am learning as she learns as well.

Tip of the day..Limit television time and select a different language while watching movies at home.

Dedication

For my husband, Mick, and our two (and future) awesome children, Cali and Dallas.

I have learned far more from you in the short years I have known you, than you will ever learn from me. Keep being yourselves and embrace the discovery of what the world has to offer you.

Love You,
Momma